Altra Olympus 3.5 Running Shoes $89.98 + Free Shipping

great deal, wish they had 15s...

How are these for everyday running ?

Quote from shade45 : How are these for everyday running ?

I love the altras I've had. Great for resolving knee issues as they are zero drop. Google it if you dont know as they take serious miles to get used to. Significantly alters your strike which will in turn make your calves burn in the short term.

Dad shoes

Quote from Singer33 : I love the altras I've had. Great for resolving knee issues as they are zero drop. Google it if you dont know as they take serious miles to get used to. Significantly alters your strike which will in turn make your calves burn in the short term.

I got Paradigms on the last deal. They are taking a second to get used to, but I'm having inner knee pain, so I think they might be wrong for me. I love the toe box, though. Do you know how the cushion of the olympus matches up? Do they have similar arch support? I suspect the arch support may be what is causing issues.

Kramer is in for a pair!

Altras are great. The Paradigm and Olympus are similar in fit and feel. The Olympus has a bit more stack height (cushion) than the Paradigm and it also has a Vibram sole. It's good for running on pavement but the Paradigm is better for that. Olympus is a little bit stiffer, particularly the Vibram sole, but still good for road. For trail running and hiking the Olympus is awesome. Note that the reason the Olympus is so discounted is that the next gen 4.0 model is coming out this summer and is said to have major changes. You can find a short video on YouTube with the CEO of Altra talking about this.

Great price on these shoes, thanks!

I prefer these over the Hoka one one Bondi. Bought both from REI and gave em a solid trial. Good luck!

Quote from shade45 : How are these for everyday running ?

I got these two months ago mainly for road running. They are great; just wish I had paid $90 for them.

expired?
shows up as 112 for me.

Quote from Singer33 : I love the altras I've had. Great for resolving knee issues as they are zero drop. Google it if you dont know as they take serious miles to get used to. Significantly alters your strike which will in turn make your calves burn in the short term.

Make sure you're not running on your toes too much. I made that mistake transitioning to barefoot style running (too much of a forefoot strike). Try to land more on the midfoot. Calves won't burn as much.

Quote from shade45 : How are these for everyday running ?

Fantastic. I have run 3 half marathons in them. They are like running on clouds but they're not squishy. They have great energy return. Almost feels like running on a good treadmill that has that bouncy feeling. Prior to these, ran in Vibram Fivefingers but developed big toe pain transitioning to barefoot style running. So I switched to this Olympus paired with toe spacers and the big toe pain is gone. Of course the wide toe box of Altras allows for the toe spacers.

The fit is similar to the Lone Peak but of course the stack height on the Olympus is much greater and it's much stiffer than the Lone Peak (in a good way... Much better for my toe).
Also there's a toe ramp which alleviates pressure on the toe (and I feel it makes me faster).

I tried the Torin for road running but I hated them as my feet felt sloppy and they looked like duck shoes. This Olympus is so much better as far as the fit and look (not as clown looking).
Keep in mind these are trail shoes and thus have trail treads which hypothetically shouldn't last as long if used on roads. But I have 400 miles on my current pair with minimal wear on the treads.
I tried the Duo, which is Altras road max cushioned equivalent but I hated it. Felt like a clunkier Torin.
Oh yeah and switching to a midfoot strike will mostly eliminate knee and heel pain

Quote from AndrewP7651 : I got Paradigms on the last deal. They are taking a second to get used to, but I'm having inner knee pain, so I think they might be wrong for me. I love the toe box, though. Do you know how the cushion of the olympus matches up? Do they have similar arch support? I suspect the arch support may be what is causing issues.

The Paradigms are stability shoes to correct overpronation using Altras guiderail system. Could be why your knees hurt. The Olympus is the neutral cushioned model. I think cushioning is similar between models.